Mastering the art of communication

Effective communication is a powerful skill; mastering it efficiently allows us to enhance our professional skills. In this article, we want to dig deeper into the art of communication.?

Those who follow our community might already know some basic concepts from our latest knowledge bonus curated by Rocío Cruz Linares , Mariana Brandes Lamas , and Fabián Varietti .

Let’s dig deeper into mastering the art of communication with some insights, concepts, and tools from Harvard, Deloitte, and many other top referents and take your skills to the next level!

Why improve communication?

Effective communication skills can sometimes be challenging, despite our best intentions. The good news is that we can improve by noticing and practicing new habits that make us better communicators. ??

?? Communication skills are your abilities when transmitting and receiving information effectively. Some examples include communicating new ideas, feelings, or even an update on your project. It can involve listening, speaking, observing, and empathizing.??

?? The ability to communicate information accurately, clearly, and as intended is a vital life skill and something that should be considered. It’s never too late to work on your communication skills; by doing so, you may find that you will improve your quality of life.

?? You can learn and practice different communication skills to help you become an effective communicator. Many of these skills work together, making it essential to practice communication in different contexts or areas.

Ladder of inference

We are all generally reasonable yet occasionally engage in counterproductive behavior. We all sometimes leave discussions feeling regretful, like we couldn’t resolve our differences. What's happening here? What pitfalls are we getting into? And why? ??

One of the best explanations for our behavior is provided by Chris Argyris’ Ladder of Inference. ?? This tool helps explain how we conclude, and if used conscientiously, it can help resolve corrosive situations - or at least improve our insight into another’s reasoning and our own.

Our conclusions seem right, but people can and do reach different conclusions. Understanding how we got those enables us to dissect what is fact from what is interpretation, question our generalizations, and better understand each other. ??

That’s when the ladder of inferences comes in, as an excellent tool to challenge us and help us understand other people's findings by jumping up or down the ladder.

Here are some questions we can ask ourselves on the various steps: ??

1. Did I include all relevant data, or what data did I use?
2. Which other interpretations are possible?
3. How reliable is this assumption? What may other assumptions hold?
4. Is this a fair conclusion? Are other decisions possible too?
5. Is this belief still serving me?
6. What other actions could make sense?

If you want more feedback on this concept and how to use it in your stride, we recommend this video ?? ???The ladder of inference.

Styles of people

We have all heard the following line: “we should treat others how we wish to be treated.” And this is an excellent mindset, but today we want to take it one step further.

?? We want to instill that we should identify how others wish to be treated and do our best to treat them that way.

It’s normal for everyone to have their working style and assume that others process information, make decisions, and connect with people similarly. But this doesn’t hold, so identifying your patterns and those of the people around is crucial. Adapting your style to somebody else’s style could make them more comfortable and create powerful synergy as a team. ??

By doing a quick search, we can find that there are many different classifications out there for working styles and communication preferences. We’ll show an example, but it’s essential to keep in mind that they are a helpful simplification of a complex reality. ?? Most of us will be a mix of the different “types” we’ll be stating, but some characteristics will be predominant. These classifications can aid in better understanding the types of things we should be paying attention to.

Let's see the types of Deloitte Business Chemistry. ??

? Pioneers: value possibilities, sparkling energy, and imagination. They are creative thinkers who believe that significant risks can bring great things. They tend to focus on the bigger picture.

?? Guardians: value stability and bring order and rigor. They're practical, detail-oriented, and reserved. They're deliberate decision-makers apt to stick with the status quo.

?? Drivers: value challenge and they generate momentum. They're technical, quantitative, logical, and competitive. They're direct in their approach to people and problems.

?? Integrators: value connection," and they draw teams together. They're empathic, diplomatic, and relationship oriented. They're attuned to nuance, seeing shades of grey rather than black and white.

?? Do you want to find out what your style is? Take a look at this interactive-guided video and delve into it by yourself: Find Your Working Style.

?? Do you want to get an idea of someone else's type? Take this 20 questions tour to gain intuition: Business Chemistry 20Q Hunching Tool.

Managing Emotions: Respond rather than react

Emotional intelligence is “the capacity to reason about emotions and emotional information, and of emotions to enhance thought” (Mayer 2009). In other words, it is the ability to recognize the emotional aspect of communication and the know-how to handle it. ??

“[...] emotional intelligence is learned and learnable, and you can upgrade it at any point in life if you are motivated.” — Daniel Goleman.

Following are some actions you can take to develop your emotional intelligence:

?? Recognize the elements inside an ‘emotion’. Even the strongest emotion involves the following aspects: physical sensations, thoughts, and urges to take action. Usually, these elements happen so fast that you can barely distinguish them. Separating them is the first step toward emotional intelligence.

?? Name your emotions. It is another step to going beyond the fight-or-flight reaction to any emotion. The second you attach a word to a feeling, you start to gain perspective.

?? Accept your emotions.?Another step toward emotional intelligence is accepting your feelings—?all of them. This can be challenging if you’ve been taught that some feelings are “good” and some are “bad.”

??? Express your emotions.?One possible response to emotion is expressing it. The key is to speak without blaming others for the way you feel.

?? Respond rather than react.?The heart of emotional intelligence is moving from mindless reaction to mindful action. When considering a possible choice, ask yourself,?How will I feel if I do this? And what will other people think?

?? Translate decisions into effective action.?Emotional intelligence will help you succeed on project teams in the workplace. What’s the successful outcome? What’s the following action to make it happen? How can you channel that energy into constructive action?

Active listening

When we communicate, we spend far more energy considering what to say than listening to the other person. ?? Active listening is more than just paying attention; it’s a specific communication skill. Based on the work of psychologist Carl Rogers it involves giving free and undivided attention to the speaker. It is a proactive experience, not a passive one. ??? ♂?

Active listening is a challenging skill to acquire. To be effective, people must have a sincere interest in the speaker. It can be designed only by being willing to risk seeing the world from the speaker’s point of view. ??

Hunsaker and Alessandra (2008) synthesize some stepson The CARESS Model of Listening to develop a higher level of listening. Although this is not the only way to understand or hone our active listening skills, it’s a good starting point:

?? Concentrate: focus your attention on the speaker.

??? Acknowledge: when you acknowledge your speaker, you demonstrate your interest and attention.

?? Research: Gather information about your speaker, interests, and objectives

?? Exercise emotional control: Deal with highly charged messages, and wait until the entire message is received before reacting.

?? Sense the nonverbal messages: Try understanding the verbal and visual messages.

?? Structure: Organize all the information as you receive it.

According to Newkirk and Linden (1982), other techniques are?paraphrasing, reflection, neutral technique, clarifying, and summarization. ??

?? Bear in mind:

1. Be mentally present → Focus…don’t drtryConcentrate on the speaker and not on how you are going to reply. Do not be tryiPlease pay to think of your next question?while the other person is giving information.
2. Pay close attention to the speaker → Listen closely to what the speaker is saying and how they are saying it. Avoid distractions?if at all possible.
3. Keep an open mind?and do not stereotype the speaker → Avoid making judgments about the speaker.
4. Concentrate on the main direction of the speaker’s message → Try to understand broadly what they are trying to say overall, as well as the detail of the words that they are using. Try to use the overall picture and all the information that you have. Gather information about your speaker, if possible, to gain context on the nations.
5. Clistened toy what you've heard?→ Once the speaker has finished, repeat back what you have listened to in your own words. “So you’re saying…” or “Let me see if I’ve understood…”.

To sum up, effective communication is a powerful tool that can unlock new opportunities and enhance our personal and professional relationships. ?? ??

With the proper knowledge and skills, we can master the art of communication and make a lasting impact on our lives. The ladder of inference and understanding different communication styles are just a few examples of improving our abilities. Remember, communication is a continuous journey; by consistently practicing and adapting, we can achieve great results.

We hope that the knowledge curated by Rocio, Mariana, and Fabián has provided valuable insights and helped you become a master communicator. ??

More resources

• Harvard: The Art of Communication
• Stanford: Sharpen Your Communication Skills
• Emotional Intelligence: Playlist short videos
• The Conversational Circumplex: Identifying, prioritizing, and pursuing informational and relational motives in conversation